


Pain

by PaxieAmor



Series: Portal'verse [5]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: AU, Portal'verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-26
Updated: 2012-06-26
Packaged: 2017-11-08 14:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/443980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaxieAmor/pseuds/PaxieAmor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things always hurt more that others; words were one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pain

**Author's Note:**

> This one is dedicated to all my fellow tumblr users who have been victims of Anon Hate *hugs you all*

No one expected her to get that low.

As far as everyone knew, she had been fine; she was adjusting well to her new home, to the Avengers, to her new life. Everyone thought that Sarah Cornell and all her demons had been laid to rest, and Sarah Stark had taken her place.

It took only one ‘news’ article to bring the old Sarah out of hiding.

“Like Father, Like Daughter,” the headline had read. “Stark child on the town with various arm candy.” Nowhere in the article, which included pictures of Sarah out with the ‘various arm candy’, did it mention that the people she was with were clients of Stark Industries’ new consulting firm, with whom she was having a preliminary meeting, or the twenty-something children of dignitaries visiting SHIELD, who she volunteered to take sightseeing while their parents were busy.

The comments on the electronic article were enough to bring tears to her eyes.

_I really thought she’d be a better role model, but now it’s clear she’s just another Tony Stark_

_Who didn’t see this coming? Oh look, no hands are raised._

_Just what we need, another billionaire playboy. This one’s not even a genius to make up for it!_

There were more comments, some of which were supportive, but there were also ones that were much worse. Sarah had left the room before anyone could tell her not to worry about the comments, that people were going to talk about anything and everything. They left her alone for an hour, then two; when she wasn’t heard or seen after almost four hours, everyone began to search.

It was Darcy who finally found her, in the place no one would have ever thought to look; the gym. She was at a punching bag at the back, beating it with everything she had. All of them thought of Steve, how he would look the same way at times during his workout, but none of them said a word. They just stood there in silence as Sarah pounded the hell out of the bag, occasionally letting out a grunt as she swung.

They might have left here there if Clint hadn't noticed that she wasn't wearing anything on her hands; no gloves, no gauze, nothing. On top of it all, the punching bag was one of Steve's; specially made for him by Tony, armored so that Steve could give it his all and not have to worry about breaking it.

"Kiddo, knock it off!" Clint's pleas fell on deaf ears as the young woman continued throwing punches. Clint moved to stop her, but it was Steve who went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her own to her sides. She didn't try to stop him, didn't even put up a fight. She seemed to fall limp against him, dissolving into tears. Steve got her so she was sitting on the floor with him and held her close; the rest of the team could see now that her hands were red, even bruising in places. She didn’t seem to be bleeding, which eased the minds of all watching.

"She's not cut out for this," Tony said as they left Steve and Sarah alone. "I've had my whole life to get used to crap from those assholes, she's had what? Six months?"

"It's her first one, Tony," Pepper said softly, soothingly. "The next ones won't be so hard on her." Tony nodded; that didn't stop him from planning to buy that newspaper and close it out of spite.

"You can't take it to heart, you know," Steve said softly. He had sat with Sarah for almost ten minutes now, knowing that was what she needed more than beating the hell out of a punching bag and possibly breaking her hands.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less," she muttered, her face buried into his chest.

"No, it doesn't," he admitted.

"I feel like a little kid, getting upset over something so stupid."

"It’s not stupid. You aren't the kind of person who... What's that phrase Darcy uses? Sluts it up?" That got a giggle out of Sarah. "Anyway, you are _not_ that kind of person. And we all know that. What they think about you is wrong and you don’t need to concern yourself with it. Okay?"

"Okay," Sarah replied with a nod, but Steve knew this would haunt her for a while more. He had said his piece, though; he wasn’t going to push her into feeling better. That would come in her own time.

"And the next time you get upset," he said quickly, "at least use padding? God, did you break anything?" She shook her head before looking down at her hands, wiggling her fingers.

“I’ve never been able to punch hard enough to do that.” He turned her words over in his mind, thinking of all the possible meanings they could hold. He decided on one and went with it.

“You often punch things when you get mad?”

“I used to,” she replied. “Lockers at school, doors, walls… put a hole in a wall once, but never really hurt myself.”

“Why?” He wasn’t prepared for her answer.

“I’d only do it when felt numb; I’d rather be hurting than feel nothing. If there’s pain, at least I know I’m still here, that I didn’t do something stupid…”

“Putting a hole in a wall isn’t stupid?” Again, he wasn’t prepared for her answer.

“Smarter than putting a hole somewhere else.”

Steve watched her more carefully after that; he didn’t go as far as to try to make sure Sarah never read another negative article about herself, but he kept an eye out for them. When he saw one, he’d go to the gym and wait for her. The first time she found him there, she was surprised but not unhappy. He helped her tape up her hands and held the bag for her. After an hour, they went for coffee.

The third time, she smiled when she saw him waiting and they did everything all over again.

The seventh time, she was waiting for him.

Every time after that, she would text him to let him know she was heading down if he wanted to join her. That’s when Steve knew he’d gotten his point across to her. She could be as angry, as upset, as _hurt_ as she wanted to be; she didn’t have to be it alone.


End file.
